Will You Love Me Tomorrow
|1961 }} | Format = Vinyl record | Recorded = 1960 | Genre = R&B | Length = 2:43 | Label = Scepter | Writer = | Producer = | Last single = "Tonight's the Night" (1960) | This single = "'Will You Love Me Tomorrow'" (1960) | Next single = "Dedicated to the One I Love" (1961) }} "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", also known as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", is a song written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King. It was originally recorded in 1960 by the Shirelles, who took their single to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song is also notable for being the first song by an all-girl group to reach number one in the United States. It has since been recorded by many artists over the years, including a 1971 version by co-writer Carole King. The Shirelles' version Background In 1960, the American girl group the Shirelles released the first version of the song as Scepter single 1211, with "Boys" on the B-side. The single's first pressing was labelled simply "Tomorrow", then lengthened later. When first presented with the song, lead singer Shirley Owens (later known as Shirley Alston-Reeves) did not want to record it, because she thought it was "too country." She relented after a string arrangement was added. However, Owens recalled on Jim Parsons' syndicated oldies radio program, Shake Rattle Showtime, that some radio stations had banned the record because they had felt the lyrics were too sexually charged. The song is in AABA form.Covach, John (2005), "Form in Rock Music: A Primer", in Stein, Deborah, Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis, New York: Oxford University Press, p.70, ISBN 0-19-517010-5. Reception In 1961, the Shirelles took their single "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Their version of the song, with session musician Gary Chester on drums, is currently ranked as the 162nd greatest song of all time, as well as the best song of 1960, by Acclaimed Music. The Shirelles version was ranked among Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time at number 126. The song later appeared on the soundtrack of Michael Apted's Stardust. Answer songs Bertell Dache, a black demo singer for the Brill Building songwriters, recorded an answer song entitled "Not just Tomorrow, But Always". It has been erroneously claimed by some historians that Dache was a pseudonym for Epic recording artist Tony Orlando, whose recording of the original song had not been released as Don Kirshner thought the lyric was convincing only as sung by a woman. However, an ad for United Artists Records which appeared in Billboard during 1961 featured a photo of the singer which conclusively proved that Dache was not Tony Orlando. The Satintones, an early Motown group, also recorded an answer song called "Tomorrow and Always," which used the same melody as the original but initially neglected to credit King and Goffin. Following a threat of litigation, later pressings of the record included proper credit. The Satintones' versions are included in the box set The Complete Motown Singles, Volume 1: 1959–1961. Carole King version Background In 1971 Carole King, the co-writer of the song, recorded a version of "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for her landmark studio album Tapestry, with Joni Mitchell and James Taylor on background vocals. King's version of the song was taken at a considerably slower tempo and with a more contemplative, melancholy feel than in the Shirelles original recording. It gained considerable album-oriented rock airplay due to the large scale commercial success of the album. The song became a feature of King's live shows. Taylor recreated his part during their joint arena-based Troubadour Reunion Tour of 2010. In the 2013 Broadway Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, the song is featured in part four times: once during its writing, once during King recording a demo of it, then with the Shirelles performing it, and then King singing and playing it later during an especially bad time in her marriage with Goffin. No other song is featured as frequently in the musical. Personnel *Carole King – piano, vocals ;Additional musicians *Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – acoustic guitar *Russ Kunkel – drums *Charles "Charlie" Larkey – bass guitar *Joni Mitchell – background vocals *James Taylor – acoustic guitar, backing vocals Other versions *Dionne Warwick "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow", featuring the Shirelles, is a 1983 album track, it was produced by Luther Vandross. *The Four Seasons had a number 24 hit with the song on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. *Linda Ronstadt released a version on her 1970 album, Silk Purse. It reached number 98 in Cash Box and (Bubbled Under to) number 111 in Billboard. *Roberta Flack's version hit number 76 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1972 as "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow". *Melanie Safka reached number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 and reached the top 40 in the United Kingdom in 1974. *Jody Miller made the charts with a remake of the song in 1975. *Morningside Drive released a dance version of the song in 1975, which reached number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. *Dana Valery recorded a dance version that hit number 95 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. *Dave Mason had a number 39 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1978 with his remake. It was his final top 40 hit on that chart. *Bryan Ferry had a hit in the United Kingdom with his version in 1993. *Debbie Gibson released a fascinating version for her Think With your heart album 1995. *Me First and the Gimme Gimmes recorded a punk version for their 2001 album, Blow in the Wind. *Amy Winehouse's version was used in the 2004 romantic comedy film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, and was included on the film's soundtrack album. *Leslie Grace released a bachata version in 2012 which became her debut single. Her version peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Tropical Songs chart and number one on the Latin Airplay chart, becoming the youngest female artist to do so. *Joe Walsh recorded the song for his 1992 album Songs for a Dying Planet. *Michael Stanley Band featured the song on their 1977 live album, "Stagepass"https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stagepass/id169585514 Stanley also featured the song on his live acoustic album, "Live in Tangiers"http://www.linelevelmusic.com/reissues.asp *The Bee Gees covered the song for the 1995 album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King. * Mpress recorded their version of the song for their 2001 album Suddenly. * Juris Fernandez from the the theme song of the 2016 Filipino Film Love Me Tomorrow. See also *List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1961 (U.S.) References External links * Category:1960 songs Category:1960 singles Category:1968 singles Category:Carole King songs Category:The Shirelles songs Category:Linda Ronstadt songs Category:Amy Winehouse songs Category:Melanie Safka songs Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Category:Billboard Tropical Songs number-one singles Category:Songs with lyrics by Gerry Goffin Category:Songs written by Carole King Category:Bachata songs Category:Scepter Records singles Category:1960 singles Category:2012 singles Category:Pop standards Category:Top Stop Music singles Category:Song recordings produced by Bill Szymczyk